Rep. Gabrielle Gifford is a vocal and effective advocate of the use of solar energy. In 2007, she introduced the Solar Energy Research and Advancement Act (HR 2774) that was passed in the House along with a comprehensive energy packages. The bill provides private and public enterprises with incentives to invest in solar energy and implement solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies into their energy plans.

She has also introduced the Renewable Energy Assistance Act of 2007 (HR 3807) which would grant tax incentives to individuals and businesses who opted for solar energy alternatives.

Her effective legislation on behalf of clean energy and her awareness of the potential of solar energy to dramatically boost the economy of Arizona reflects a strong commitment to the people of her district, her state, and her nation.

Last month brought the The American Housing Rescue & Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221 through the house, helping families facing foreclosure secure their homes and ensuring affordable loans to families attempting to buy a home.

The focus of the bill, according to Gifford's site:

strengthens neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis by providing resources to allow cities and states to buy up and rehabilitate foreclosed properties that are currently driving down home prices, ---

reducing state and local revenues, and destabilizing neighborhoods;

expands homeownership opportunities for veterans and helps returning soldiers avoid foreclosure and stay in their home;

provides tax breaks to spur home buying;

and creates a new fund to boost the nation’s stock of affordable rental housing in both rural and urban areas for low and very low-income individuals and families.

In Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' short time with the House of Representatives, she has pushed heavily for the Clean Energy Act. From her inaugural address to the debates in Congress, she has shown a willingness to state her position on the tough choices that need to be made regarding the energy crisis.

The Clean Energy Act repeals $14 billion in subsidies to oil companies and establishes a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve to increase research and development in clean, renewable energy, at the same time giving incentives to energy conservation.

Giffords believes any legislation involving the growth of sustainable energies would benefit her constituency in the creation of green jobs.

“We put our national security at risk by relying on oil from unstable regimes in the Middle East and Latin America,” she said during one debate.

Giffords Wants Health Care for Kids

Last year, Rep. Gabriell Giffords strongly condemned the President’s veto of the SCHIP bill. The legislation, which later passed, seeks to provide health care coverage to children. Before the House, Giffords condemned,

“[President Bush’s] refusal to provide funding to over 82,400 uninsured children in the state of Arizona is simply unconscionable. Today in my state, 1 out 5 kids currently has not health insurance. We rank among the 5 highest states in the entire country.”

Giffords on Border Control

Giffords, according to Glenn Beck is one of the few in congress to question the program. She says that the program was crafted without the input of Congress. Meridia Aid Package, a $1.4 billion dollar aid package to Mexico. The program seeks to fund training to fight drug cartels.

“The Tucson sector of the border patrol is the most heavily trafficked sector along the entire 200 miles. About 50 percent of the drugs about 50% of the illegal immigrants who are coming in come from the Tucson sector… So before we put that money into Mexico I want to make sure that it goes first and foremost to our front lines of the border.”

Giffords Wants to Put on Sunglasses

Giffords, who serves on the House Science and Technology Committee, declares, “The reality is from a national defense standpoint, from a global warming standpoint and also just the availability of resources, it’s a no-brainer for us to be investing in solar energy.” She believes that American innovation along with the advances already made by Japan and Germany will make solar a feasible alternative.

Giffords Is Not Toying Around

Toys from abroad have been called into question for their safety. Giffords exclaims, “We have been woefully inadequate in terms of testing these toys and it can’t continue.” She supported the Safe Consumers Product Act (which passed). Gifford suggests that parent check toy safety on the Internet. She continues and says that there are not enough workers to monitor all of these imports and products.

Giffords Giving Back Taxes

According to Rep. Giffords, 3,656 Arizonan taxpayers were owed 3.73 million in unclaimed IRS refunds. The congresswoman stated, “I want to do everything I can to make sure that the taxpayers in the 8th District receive their money.” About 467 taxpayers in the district are owed on average $824. Such efforts should win the support of a few Republicans in this right-leaning state.

Giffords Saves Homeowners From Insurance - Not Necessarily Floods

Cooperating with Sen. John McCain, Rep. Giffords managed to persuade the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to change the analysis of flood plain risks in Pima County. Had the analysis remained, homeowners in Marana would have had to buy flood insurance. This appears to be a victory for homeowners today, but it remains to be seen how this political solution will pan out in the event of a flood.

The National Federation of Independent Business supports Rep. Giffords. In July, the prominent small business organization lauded her introduction of the Diesel Tax Parity Act. The bill seeks to reduce the federal tax on diesel fuel from 24.3 cents per gallon to 18.3 cents. The lower rate is equivalent to the tax on gasoline. Small businesses just as consumers have suffered from the recent spikes in oil. The measure attempts to facilitate business activity.

Giffords Wants to Modify E-Verify

Giffords wants to overhaul E-Verify system because she believes that it is difficult to use, often inaccurate, and too expensive for small businesses. She introduced the Employee Verification Amendment Act. The bill extends E-Verify for 5 years instead of 10 years as originally proposed, requires studies on effectiveness, and adds funding to the Social Security program, which funds the verification program.

Giffords Aims to Give Veterans Peace of Mind

Giffords has been responsive to returning veterans’ mental health. She says that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left veterans with “unique scars not only on the body but in far more cases, on the mind,” according to Giffords. Post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury have been the two leading health issues as a result of these wars. Giffords held the Community Initiative on Veterans’ Mental Health Services on September 7, 2008, which sought to review the mental health needs of veterans, the services provided, and determining the next steps that should be taken.

Giffords Votes Against Bailout

Giffords, against her party's leaders, opposed the bailout bill because it did not do enough to protect taxpayers in the event that their investment would be lost or to punish executives and limit compensation. Shortly after the vote she stated,

"I voted against the bill because it failed to provide sufficient protections for American taxpayers."

"Our nation is confronting serious instability in our financial markets that threatens the strength of the entire U.S. economy. Wall Street companies must pay the price for their predatory lending, irresponsible trading and greed. Years of deregulations and minimal oversight by the federal government encouraged this behavior. I support responsible federal action to ensure that we protect retirement accounts, student loans, mortgages and lines of credit for small business."

Giffords appears to support the general thrust of her party's legislation, but aside from pushing the bill further in terms of taxpayer protection and executive punishment, it is unclear what changes she demands or what alternative she supports.

Former Congressman Jim Kolbe resigned as co-chair of Republican challenger Tim Bee's campaign for Arizona's 8th Congressional District's House seat. A member of the Log Cabin Republicans, Kolbe has been openly gay since the 1990's, but declines to comment as to the reasons he left Bee's campaign. Bee has pushed for a Constitutional Amendment to make marriage between a man and a woman and helped get a gay marriage ban on this November's ballot in Arizona.